BIRMINGHAM are holding back on chasing the signature of fans’ favourite Ben Barker until after this weekend.

British bosses meet in Rugby tomorrow for a four-day AGM to discuss the rules for the 2012 season and the Brummies will be represented by promoter Graham Drury and he will also introduce new co-owner Alan Phillips to the members.

Drury admits there is some concern over the fact Barker, under the current rules, is still eligible to join a Premier League club and double-up with Birmingham.

But that would mean the lower-league club get first call on his services in the event of any fixture clashes and Drury isn’t happy about that.

He said: “Of course I would love Ben Barker back in the team because he was excellent for us last season and he admitted the move to Birmingham did him a lot of good.

“He’s texting me regularly asking if there is any news but I want to wait and see if he is going to sign for a Premier League club because if that’s the case I wouldn’t be so keen to sign him.

“I said at the end of the season that doubling-up riders are all well and good, but I would prefer a more settled team after everything we went through in our first Premier League season.

“When we were missing Ben you could tell the difference. The difficult bit is when we negotiate, if the rules state he can ride in the Premier League and we don’t want him to then we are going to need to significantly increase his pay structure from last season.

“But, that aside, how can it be right that a rider like Ben, who rode in the World Cup last summer, is riding in the Second Division? He is an Elite League rider who shouldn’t be lowering himself to the Premier League, but if the rules allow it then I guess as a rider you have to look at maximising your earnings.”